Method to tag a phone call to communicate purpose of the call

ABSTRACT

Phone calls may be tagged with the importance or the context of the call to be displayed along with the caller ID information on the display of a receiving phone. The context information is thus made available even before the call is answered to aid the user in determining whether or not to answer the call or how long thereafter it would be appropriate to wait before the call is returned.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/578,772 filed Dec. 22, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/721,768 filed on Dec. 20, 2012, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,938,223.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to tagging phone callsand, more particularly, to tagging a cell phone call with contextualinformation.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A telephone service commonly known as “Caller ID” allows a person who isreceiving a telephone call to determine the calling party before thecall is answered. Caller ID is available on landline phones and fairlystandard for cellular phones. Caller ID involves the calling telephonedevice to transmit or otherwise have made available information, such asthe phone number of the calling device, the name of the calling party,etc. The receiving telephone can use the information to determinewhether to block the call, allow the call to go through, or to displaythe information on a display at the receiving telephone.

The receiving telephone, particularly in the cellular arena, has manyoptions of what to do with Caller ID information. For example, it mayassociate the Caller ID with names or nicknames from an address book tobe displayed, associate different ringtones or ring-back tones,associate pictures or photos to be displayed, etc.

The calling telephone device typically has fewer options available. Forexample, the only option the caller may have is to block thetransmission of its Caller ID information resulting in “unknown” to bedisplayed at the receiving telephone.

Typically, when caller initiates the phone call to the receiver, thereceiver does not have any idea about the caller's need intention or theurgency of the call. The receiver can only see who is calling. Based onthe receiver's condition (busy/not busy) the receiver makes a judgmentcall as to whether or not to answer the incoming call immediately. Attimes, if the caller is in real need, perhaps due to an urgent need oremergency situation, for example, there is no way to communicate thatcontext to the receiver unless the call is answered. The caller may haveto resort to frantic calling to convey the urgency. In other scenarios,where receiver is not able to see the incoming call, the call logs(missed calls) do not indicate the call priority either. It is againleft to the receiver to judge and decide whether to return the calllater or not. Voice mail can provide some relief here, but voice mailneeds to be accessed and listened to and often people do not take thetime to check voicemail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and a better understanding of the present invention maybecome apparent from the following detailed description of arrangementsand example embodiments and the claims when read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, all forming a part of the disclosure of thisinvention. While the foregoing and following written and illustrateddisclosure focuses on disclosing arrangements and example embodiments ofthe invention, it should be clearly understood that the same is by wayof illustration and example only and the invention is not limitedthereto.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a caller phone and a receiver phonewhere the caller phone can tag a call with an importance level orpurpose to be displayed on the receiver phone;

FIG. 3 is an example menu which may be used to tag a call;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing context information received with thecall according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing context information for a calltransferred to a shared memory on a network according to one embodiment;and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of sending andreceiving calls with context tags.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described is way to tag calls with the importance or the context of thecall that may be displayed along with the caller ID information on thedisplay of a receiving phone. The context information is thus madeavailable even before the call is answered to aid the user indetermining whether or not to answer the call or how long thereafter itwould be appropriate to wait before the call is returned.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a mobile device or system. Themobile device may comprise a phone, a cell phone, a smart phone, atablet, or any other device which, among other things, is capable ofmaking calls. In some embodiments, a mobile device 100 includes one ormore transmitters 102 and receivers 104 for transmitting and receivingdata. In some embodiments, the mobile device includes one or moreantennas 105 for the transmission and reception of data, where theantennas may include dipole, monopole antennas, patch antennas, etc. Themobile device 100 may further include a user interface 106, including,but not limited to, a graphical user interface (GUI) or traditionalkeys. The mobile device 100 may further include one or more elements forthe determination of physical location or velocity of motion, including,but limited to, a GPS receiver 108 and GPS circuitry 110.

The mobile device 100 may further include one or more memories or setsof registers 112, which may include non-volatile memory, such as flashmemory, and other types of memory. The memory or registers 112 mayinclude one more groups of settings 114 for the device 100, includingdefault settings, user-set settings established by user of the mobiledevice, and enterprise-set settings established by an enterprise, suchas an employer, who is responsible for IT (information technology)support. The memory 112 may further include one or more applications116, including applications that support or control operations to sendor receive a context of a call according to embodiments. The memory 112may further include user data 118, including data that may affectlimitations of functionality of the mobile device and interpretations ofthe circumstances of use of the mobile device. For example, the userdata 118 may include calendar data, contact data, address book data,pictures and video files, etc.

The mobile device 100 may include various elements that are related tothe functions of the system. For example, the mobile device may includea display 120 and display circuitry 121 for displaying caller ID andcontext information; a microphone and speaker 122 and audio circuitry123 including audible signaling (e.g., ringers); a camera 124 and cameracircuitry 125; and other functional elements such as a table of callcontexts 126, according to one embodiment. The mobile device may furtherinclude one or more processors 128 to execute instructions, includinginstructions regarding the calling contexts.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown two mobile devices, which maycomprise a caller phone 200 and receiver phone 202. While the callerphone and receiver phone, 200 and 202, are shown to be the same type ofphone, this is for illustrative purposes only. In practice the callerphone 200 and the receiver phone 202 may be different styles, brands,form factors, etc. Each of the caller phone 200 and receiver phone 202may comprise mobile devices as shown and described above in FIG. 1. Thecaller phone 200 may comprise a display 204 and a user interface 210which may include keys as shown, or a graphical user interface (GUI) forentering phone numbers, data or commands. Likewise, the receiver phone202 may include a display 208 and a user interface 212 for similarfunctions.

According to one embodiment, the caller phone 200, when making a phonecall, may send context information 214 of the call to the receiver phone202. For example, sending call priority/importance along with the mobilephone call would enable a caller to communicate the importance of thecall or the need to the receiver more effectively.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the caller phone 200 may belong to JohnSmith and is making a call to the receiver phone 202 belonging to MarySmith. The caller phone may have a tag function that tags the call withan information tag 214 indicating the importance level or purpose of thecall. On the receiver phone 202 the display 208 may display the callerID information which may include the phone number 216 of the callerphone 200 and the name 218, John Smith, associated with the caller phone200. In addition, the tag information 214 may also be graphicallydisplayed, in this case “important” 220. This “important” tag 220 maycause Mary, the user of the receive phone, to take the call immediatelyor if not possible, to return the call as soon as possible. If, on theother hand, the call was tagged 220 with “low importance” or some otherless urgent tag, then Mary may not answer and return the call at herleisure.

Thus, considering the call importance, the receiver can make a betterjudgment to answer the call immediately despite being busy. In case thecall is missed due to receiver being busy or away from the phone 202,the call logs will show the missed call along with the context tagindicating the importance of the call. This will allow the receiver totake immediate action and not wait to hear his/her voice mails tounderstand the need.

This concept can then be used for variety of purposes other than justcommunicating importance of the call. For instance, call tagging may beextended to pass not only the importance of the call but it could alsodo various other things such as passing the purpose of the call in theform of a short message that may displayed as is the caller ID. Forexample, when a call is received, it may be tagged with a question(e.g., need me to stop at supermarket?), a short piece of information(e.g. starting my coffee break), updating a status (e.g. will be busy in10 minutes), marketing information (your bill is overdue), etc. Based onthe tag, the phone on the receiver end could build further intelligenceand provide much better user experience and value added service back tothe end user. In other words, the context tags 214 may aid the user indetermining not just the importance of the call, but in ascertaining thecaller's future availability for a return call if the call cannot beanswered immediately or allow the receiver of the call to prepare forthe conversation once the voice call actually occurs.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a table comprising contextinformation that may be sent along with a dialed phone call to bedisplayed. The table may be stored in the memory 112 of the mobiledevice in the table of call context module 126, for example, as shownpreviously in FIG. 1. The non-exhaustive list of predefined context tagsmay include “Question”, “Important”, “Needs Follow Up”, “LowImportance”, and “Information”. In addition to the text tags discussed,icons relaying the same message, such as “i” “!”, “?”, a flag symbol,and “down arrow”, 300, may also be used by the caller phone 200 anddisplayed on the receiver phone 202.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram illustrating oneembodiment for passing context tag information with a call. As shown, areceiver phone 402, may include at least a communication processor 404and an application processor 406. These processors 404 and 406 maycomprise a single processor performing both functions or multipleprocessors as shown. When a call is received, such as when the phonenumber of the receiver phone 402 is dialed by a caller phone (notshown), a network, such as a cellular network transmits the call whichis received 408 by the receiver phone 402. In this case, the receivedcall 408 includes the context tag entered by the caller when dialing thecall. The phone call carries the context tag along with it and getsproliferated through the network until it reaches the destination. Thecommunications processor recognizes the phone number and causes thereceiver phone 402 to ring. The context tag information 410 may bepassed to the application processor 406 which interprets the context tagand displays it as text on the display 412, which may also display thecaller-id information.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown another embodiment. Here, acaller phone 500 and a receiver phone 502 may both have access to ashared memory on the network or cloud 503. As before, the receiver phone502, may include at least a communication processor 504 and anapplication processor 506. Again, these processors 504 and 506 maycomprise a single processor performing both functions or multipleprocessors as shown. A display 512 may also be present. Similarly, thecaller phone 500 may comprise a communication processor 524 and anapplication processor 526 and a display 528, as shown for example inFIG. 2. In this case, the context tag information may be entered on thecaller phone 500 while making a call. For example, by pressing a number,corresponding to a predefined context message, followed by # key. Thus,the context tag is transferred 530 to the shared memory 503 on thenetwork. The receiving phone 502 can query 532 the shared memory 503 forany additional context and retrieve it for further processing beforerendering it for the user to see on the display 512, prior to answeringthe call.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram according to one embodiment. At block 600 acaller initiates a call to a desired party. The caller may do so bypunching in a phone number on a keypad or GUI, using a look up from astored address book, using a voice command, or any other method ofdialing. In block 602, before sending the call the user can attach acontext tag indicating the general purpose of the call. The user may dothis from a menu of predefined context tags, by pushing a buttonassociated with a particular context tag, or perhaps speaking the tagfor voice command enabled devices. In other embodiments the caller mayalso be able to customize the context tag by entering a short message orquestion. In block 604, the caller sends the call. In block 606, thereceiving phone receives the call along with the context tag, and callerID information if available. In response to the call, the receiver phonerings, as normal, but also displays the context tag for the receivingparty to view. In this manner, the receiving party may use the contexttag information to aid in determining whether or not to answer the callimmediately, return the call at a later time appropriate to the contexttag, or perhaps at least have a general idea of the nature of the callprior to answering.

According to embodiments, in one example, at least one machine readablestorage medium comprises a set of instructions which, when executed by aprocessor, cause a first mobile device to receive a telephone call froma second mobile device, receive caller ID information corresponding tothe second mobile device, receive a context tag sent by the secondmobile device, and display the caller ID information and the context tagon a display of the first mobile device prior to the telephone callbeing answered.

In another example, the at least one machine readable medium as recitedabove the context tag is displayed as text indicating the importance thetelephone call.

In another example, the at least one machine readable medium as recitedabove, the context tag is displayed as a symbol indicating the nature ofthe call.

In another example, the at least one machine readable medium as recitedabove wherein the context tag comprises a text message or text question.

In another example, the at least one machine readable medium as recitedabove wherein the context tag is received with the telephone call.

In yet another example the at least one machine readable medium asrecited above further to query a memory on a network shared with thesecond mobile device, and to receive the context tag for the telephonecall from the network.

In another example the at least one machine readable medium as recitedabove further to initiate a telephone call from dialed number, sendcaller ID information with the telephone call, and tag the telephonecall with a context tag.

Another example may include a method, comprising a first mobile devicereceiving a telephone call from a second mobile device, receive callerID information corresponding to the second mobile device, receive acontext tag sent by the second mobile device, and display the caller IDinformation and the context tag on a display of the first mobile deviceprior to the telephone call being answered.

In another example the method as recited above wherein the context tagis displayed as text indicating the importance the telephone call.

In another example the method as recited above, wherein the context tagis displayed as a symbol indicating the nature of the call.

In another example the method as recited above wherein the context tagcomprises a text message or text question.

In another example the method as recited above wherein the context tagis received with the telephone call.

In another example, the method as recited above further comprises querya memory on a network shared with the second mobile device, and receivethe context tag for the telephone call from the network.

In yet another example a mobile phone device, comprises a user interfaceto receive user input, a display, a memory including a table of callcontexts, wherein when a call is dialed a context tag for the call isentered with the user interface and the context tag is sent with thecall to be viewed prior to the call being answered.

In another example, the mobile phone as recited above the context tagcomprises text indicating the importance the telephone call.

In another example, the mobile phone as recited above the context tagcomprises a symbol indicating the nature of the call.

In another example, the mobile phone as recited above the context tagcomprises a text message or text question.

In another example, the mobile phone as recited above the receivedcontext tag is displayed on the display of the mobile phone.

In another example, the mobile device as recited above further comprisesmeans to send the context tag to a memory on a network shared with acalled mobile device.

The above description of illustrated embodiments, including what isdescribed in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examplesare described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize.

These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the abovedetailed description. The terms used in the following claims should notbe construed to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification and the claims. Rather, the scope of theinvention is to be determined entirely by the following claims, whichare to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claiminterpretation.

What is claimed is:
 1. At least one machine readable storage mediumcomprising a set of instructions which, when executed by a processor,cause a first mobile device to: receive a telephone call from a secondmobile device; receive caller ID information corresponding to the secondmobile device; receive a context tag sent by the second mobile device;and display the caller ID information and the context tag on a displayof the first mobile device prior to the telephone call being answered.